TIV Youth Organisation (TYO) has alleged of plot to assassinate Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State. Its President General, Comrade Timothy Hembaor, at a news conference yesterday in Makurdi maintained that the plan was being perfected by ‘Abuja Forces’ “as the next action after the impeachment move (against the governor) seems to have failed.”

According to Hembaor, information at their disposal indicate that the elimination plot was mooted long ago, “but its implementation was pushed to 2019 when, by the plotters’ calculation, Ortom would no longer be governor.”He claimed that it was on this premise that the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership was earlier instructed to deny the governor a return ticket come 2019.

The recent defection of the governor to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hembaor stated, had supposedly distorted the hatching, hence the decision to move for his immediate removal from office by the legislature.

He alleged: “The plotters were believed to have carefully developed ways to stoke a political crisis in Benue as well as supervise another programme in the state so that if Governor Ortom could not be impeached, the coordinated crisis and sponsored mayhem would be escalated enough to declare a state of emergency.”

The TYO leader regretted that “in all of this, the cries of the people of Benue and those of other Nigerians did not make any impression on the president.“We want to put it on record that the life of Governor Ortom is at risk and if anything happens to him, President Muhammadu (Buhari) will be held responsible.”He went on: “We call on the President Buhari to henceforth withdraw the police that he has mandated to terrorise and intimidate Governor Ortom.

“We also demand that the President should direct the Inspector General of Police and the DG of Department of State Services (DSS) to withdraw their men from the State House of Assembly.”

Also yesterday, the Benue Youth Forum (BYF) raised the alarm over alleged attempts by the operatives of the police and DSS to kidnap the Clerk of the Assembly, Mr Torese Agena, and force him to “conduct an illegal sitting of the House so the plotters could achieve their aim.”

The group’s National President, Comrade Terrence Kuanum, during a press briefing in Makurdi, claimed that privileged information had revealed that plain cloth detectives had been deployed to the House to execute the plan. His words: “Civil servants working at the Assembly complex have been subjected to constant harassment by weird-looking security operatives. We wish to bring to the notice of the public that following that attempted rape on democracy, there is a continued siege to the Benue State House of Assembly.”

“With the current situation at the legislature, especially with the siege by the police and DSS, it is pertinent that as concerned citizens, we owe the state and country the duty to always make our position on matters know without fear of intimidation.”

He added: “You are all aware that in the past few days, Benue State has faced a deliberate but illegal attempt to truncate the current democracy. This sad development is occasioned by instigation of anarchy under the directive of the Federal Government headed by President Muhammadu Buhari who is in charge of all security forces in the country.”

•Sourced from a Guardian report

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